Force India were 'out-developed' by rivals - Hulkenberg

Nico Hulkenberg believes Force India fell behind their rivals over the 2016 pre-season, and are only now beginning to make up ground in the traditional Formula One development race.

Hulkenberg has not scored points since the opening round of the season in Australia, while team mate Sergio Perez has made the top ten just twice - leaving Force India seventh in the constructors' championship, two spots down on their finishing position last year.

Asked by Formula1.com to pinpoint the reasons for that downturn, Hulkenberg said: "Two things are responsible for not being as competitive and quick as we thought.

"Firstly, my guess is that we've been a bit out-developed over the winter. And secondly, luck hasn't kissed us in races like China, Bahrain and Russia. A few unlucky incidents - the timing being not quite right - and that's what you get."

As to whether he expects an upturn from the updates Force India brought to Barcelona, and are continuing to evaluate in this week's in-season test, Hulkenberg added: "Of course we have a lot of hopes and expectations pinned to this package.

"It will take time to fully understand what we've got here - and what from the new parts and pieces will be implemented in the long run. I think at the next couple of races we will get wiser.

"We have already found more performance in the car in the wind tunnel, which we will introduce later in the year. So there is no standstill. The season is still young and you cannot let it stand as it is right now.

"To be honest right now the standing in the constructors' championship is not really on my agenda. All we are working on now is to bring performance back to the car - and start scoring points again. We will see where that takes us. We have 16 races to go - that is a marathon!"
Neither Hulkenberg nor Perez is testing in Spain this week, with driving duties instead being handled by Force India's development driver Alfonso Celis.

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Spanish GP - Race - Force India Quotes

Hulkenberg's day ended in flames, with an oil leak forcing his second retirement in a row. Perez had a better time of it, coming home seventh after a solid, if unspectacular drive.

Sergio Perez, 7th
“It was a very good race and I think we managed to get the maximum result we could hope to achieve today. We were able to keep some very fast cars behind us and we capitalised on the accident on the first lap [between Hamilton and Rosberg] to bring home a good amount of points. I had to fend off Felipe [Massa] in the last three laps: I was on very old tyres and he was closing in on me, but I managed to defend my position. This was pretty much the only action I had all afternoon; the rest of my race was quite lonely, which helped me look after the tyres and allowed me to defend in the final few laps. We had a good strategy that helped us leapfrog the Haas and brought us this good result on a track that has never been our strongest.”

Nico Hülkenberg, DNF
“It’s frustrating not to finish another race. I saw some smoke coming from the back of my car and then it developed into a fire so I had to park quickly at the side of the track. It’s a shame because I missed the chance to fight for points and we also missed out on learning more about the car in race conditions. Sometimes in racing you have periods when things don’t go your way, but you have to keep the faith and believe that sooner or later your luck will change. There are also some positives to take away from this weekend because we’ve made progress with the car and I think the performance will continue to improve. So we will keep working hard and come back stronger at the next one.”

Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal
“It’s been quite an eventful weekend for us, so it’s fairly satisfying to be leaving Barcelona with six points in our pocket. We made a good step with the car, allowing Sergio to run solidly inside the top ten all afternoon. It’s a track with limited strategy options and few overtaking opportunities so it was quite a lonely and straightforward race for him. On the other side of the garage, Nico was out of luck with an oil leak causing a fire and forcing an early retirement. Thankfully Nico was able to park up and helped the marshals extinguish the fire. So it’s been another mixed weekend, but I think our improved performance bodes well for the remainder of the season. As we learn more about this car we have the potential to continue scoring good points at the upcoming races.”

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Spanish GP - Qualifying - Force India Quotes

Perez continued his strong run of form, qualifying ninth. He has looked the quicker of the two all weekend, with Hulkenberg just missing out on Q3 in 11th. Free tyre choice does give Hulkenberg more options with his strategy though, so a double points finish could be on the cards on Sunday.

Sergio Perez, 9th, 1:23.782
“I’m very happy to be starting ninth. This track has traditionally been a difficult one for us, so to come here with our upgrade and make Q3 feels pretty good. I think there was the potential to be even faster on my Q3 lap, but I’m still happy with the result. I expect us to be strong in the race and we have a good track position, which is important on this track where it’s never easy to overtake. In the first stint, the cars starting just outside the top ten on fresh tyres will be a threat, but I am confident we can make a good start and stay ahead. Strategy will be important, as well as tyre management, but it’s not easy if you get involved in battles that take the life out of your tyres. If we can come away with a good number of points it will be a nice reward for the team’s hard work and effort recently.”

Nico Hülkenberg, 11th, 1:24.203
“It’s always a bit disappointing to miss out on Q3 by just one hundredth of a second, but on the other hand starting from P11 gives us the chance to explore the strategy options with a free choice of tyre for the first stint. We brought a big upgrade here this weekend and generally it’s working well, but I’m not totally comfortable in the car and I’m still chasing the balance. I feel quite optimistic about tomorrow because our long run pace looked solid and we’ve got a good chance of scoring some points.”

Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal
“To come to Barcelona – one of the most demanding tracks where aero performance dominates - and qualify in ninth and eleventh places is an excellent effort by the whole team. Everybody has worked extremely hard to deliver our new aerodynamic package and we’ve already reaped the rewards with our performance today. Sergio and Nico both delivered tidy laps and Nico was within a whisker of joining Sergio in Q3. Those starting positions give us a great opportunity to score a good number of points and make up for the misfortune we’ve experienced in some of the earlier races this season.”

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Hulkenberg: Qualifying will be true judge of upgrades

Nico Hulkenberg came away positive after sampling Force India’s upgrade package for the first time in Spain on Friday, but insisted he is withholding judgement for now on their ultimate potential. 

Both Hulkenberg and team mate Sergio Perez finished inside the top ten in FP2 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, and the German reported definite progress with his revised VJM09 machine.

“Today was pretty cool,” he told Formula1.com. “With all our new parts we could rather easily keep the pace with the so-called front-runners.

“It will be interesting to see what qualifying teaches us - whether it is a continuation of the good pace, or a hard landing in reality.”

Force India have endured a tough start into the 2016 season, scoring just eight points to date. While part of that has been down to poor luck, Hulkenberg admitted it’s also connected to certain traits of the VJM09 – ones he hopes the latest updates will address.

“The weak points of the car are the certain characteristics – namely that it works on some tracks and not on others,” he said. “These new parts are aimed at eliminating these characteristics and at producing more downforce and grip.”

Hulkenberg has reached Q3 in qualifying at all but one Grand Prix so far this year, though he has yet to end a Saturday higher than eighth in the times.

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Spanish GP - Friday Practice - Force India Quotes

Perez had a problem with a smoky engine in FP1, but the team managed to resolve the issue before the session's end, and then settled in to take the final top 10 positions with their heavily revised car in FP2.

Sergio Perez - FP1: 1:27.064, P14; FP2: 1:25.437, P9
"It was frustrating to lose some track time this morning, especially when you have some upgrades to test, but we managed to recover well in FP2. I'm not yet totally comfortable with the balance, but I believe we have made a big step forward compared to the car we had at the beginning of the season. Track position is very important in Barcelona so hopefully we can turn this performance into a good qualifying result tomorrow."

Nico Hulkenberg - FP1: 1:26.983, P13; FP2: 1:25.453, P10
"It was a good Friday and we managed to get through most of our programme. We had a big upgrade package to test so all the data we managed to get will help us understand it and make the most of it. The first impressions are positive: I think it's a good step forward in performance and I am quite pleased with how things went today. The job now is to analyse all the information from the sessions and see what else we can extract from the car. There are a few more tweaks we can make to get the balance right for the weekend, but it's a good starting point."

Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal
"It was not the most straightforward morning with an oil leak costing Sergio quite a bit of time, but all in all it was a positive day. We were still able to cover a lot of ground with Nico and we completed good mileage with both cars in the afternoon, giving us plenty of data and information. We ran on all three tyre compounds and got a good understanding of the effects of our upgrade package. The preliminary indications appear to be very positive and we believe there is more to come from the car. There is still some work to do ahead of tomorrow, but I think we're moving in a good direction."

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Spanish GP - Force India drivers preview quotes

Nico Hulkenberg
“When you get to Barcelona to start the European season, you start to realise just how quickly the year is passing. It’s a chance to get back into a normal routine because you don’t have so many long flights or time zone changes, so it’s a bit easier from that regard.
“I love the city of Barcelona and the Spanish lifestyle in the sunshine. We’ve already spent a couple of weeks there for winter testing, but when you come back for the race everything is different: the cars have evolved, the temperatures are warmer, and you have to work hard to find the right set-up. That’s why it’s a tricky circuit because confidence counts for a lot and, if you’re not totally comfortable, your lap times really suffer.
“I felt pretty disappointed about what happened in Sochi. In fact, things have gone against us for the last few races. We know we should have scored more points, but it’s impossible to plan for the bad luck we’ve experienced. I’m looking forward to a weekend where everything goes to plan so that we can show our true potential.”

Sergio Perez
“The atmosphere in Barcelona is always special and for me it’s one of the best tracks of the year. I enjoy the layout because it’s a true test of your car with a bit of everything, especially long, quick corners, which all the drivers enjoy. It’s a track where you feel the physical demands, especially on your neck, but overall it’s just a great place to experience a Formula One car. The only downside is that it’s difficult to overtake, but it’s still possible with DRS on the approach to turn one, especially if the car ahead is suffering with high tyre degradation.
“It was important to get back into the points in Russia. The car performed very well all weekend and I can feel the progress we’ve made since the start of the year. It was not a smooth race, but we didn’t give up and scoring two points was a good recovery. It’s been a difficult start to the year, but it feels like the momentum is changing now and the performance in Sochi was a big boost for all of us.
“Barcelona will be the first chance to run our updated car. It’s going to be a huge task to understand everything on Friday, but it’s always exciting to try new parts on the car.”

Vijay Mallya, team principal
“[The Barcelona update package is] on schedule to be fitted to both cars ahead of Friday practice. It’s pretty comprehensive and the car will look quite different.”


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Force India to look 'quite different' in Spain

Force India will introduce a number of upgrades to their VJM09 this weekend in Spain as they bid to overhaul both their car and their 2016 fortunes.

According to team principal Vijay Mallya, the updates - which should be ready for both Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez in time for FP1 on Friday morning - will make their machine look 'quite different' as a result.

"Despite not realising our potential in Sochi, we took encouragement from our qualifying and race pace: the car is improving and we’ve got a good base on which to build," Mallya said.

"[The Barcelona upgrade] is on schedule to be fitted to both cars ahead of Friday practice. It's pretty comprehensive and the car will look quite different.

"There are 17 races to go and I’m confident the best is yet to come. It’s a marathon, not a sprint."

While Force India have scored just eight points so far this year - leaving them eighth in the constructors' standings - Mallya feels the picture has been clouded by misfortune for both drivers.

"In Sochi we were the innocent victims of the first lap chaos – as was the case in Bahrain too," he explained.

"It’s frustrating because, even with the benefit of hindsight, it’s hard to see what we could have done differently. We were just in the wrong place at the wrong time with both cars, which caused a puncture for Sergio and ended Nico’s race. 

"To see Sergio recover from the back of the pack and score points was a tremendous effort [but] we’ve yet to see how we perform in a clean, trouble-free race without safety cars, red flags or accidents. I hope we’ve used up all of our bad luck already!"

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